Capitol dome repairs may cost $5 million more than original estimate

Colorado’s rusting Capitol dome could cost another $5 million to fix, a 41 percent increase over the original estimate.

But that estimate – which could change – will depend on whether state officials want to increase the scope of the repairs to include replacing sections of the copper sheeting that comprise the rounded dome itself or even regilding the structure.

It also could depend on whether lawmakers are willing to take more money from historical funds to carry out additional repairs, something preservationists are likely to fight.

The original estimate was $12 million, and that sum envisioned repairing or replacing parts of the century-old cast-iron drum of the dome. Many sections of the drum, the cylindrical portion of the dome structure, are badly rusting and starting to separate in places.

Consultants for months have been conducting a close examination of the dome and have discovered some other things that need fixing. The actual rounded dome itself is composed of copper sheet metal that has been gilded.

“The consultant is concerned that it’s old copper – 100 plus years old – and the gilding is 20 years old,” said State Architect Larry Friedberg. “The question is, ‘Should we not regild it and should we not replace the copper?'”

State officials always had cautioned that the original $12 million estimate could be increased depending on what consultants found when they started removing decades of paint layers to expose cast-iron and peering beneath the coppe sheeting.

And Friedberg was careful to warn that the new $17 million figure was strictly a rough estimate that could increase or decrease once final studies have been completed in June.

“The good news,” he said, “is the building is structurally sound.”

What’s unclear, though, is where the extra money might come from.

Senate Minority Leader Mike Kopp[2], R-Littleton, sponsored the legislation last year that called for the state to take $4 million from the State Historical Fund in the first year of the three-year repair project. Meanwhile, Colorado Preservation Inc. is trying to raise the remaining $8 million through private donations in campaign dubbed, “Share the Care.”

The State Historical Fund provides money for scores of preservation projects in communities across the state, and some lawmakers opposed tapping it for dome repairs. Kopp said he plans to file legislation that would allow the state to take an extra $5 million from the fund if needed.

That doesn’t sit well with Rep. Jim Riesberg[3], D-Greeley, Kopp’s co-sponsor last year and the lawmaker with whom Kopp compromised.

“It (taking another $5 million from the fund) would cripple the projects in a lot of communities,” Riesberg said. “It’s those historical sites that in many cases attract the tourist trade. It would have a significant impact throughout the state.”

But Riesberg, now in the minority party in the House, is no longer the chairman of the Capital Development Committee, a joint panel of lawmakers that handle issues dealing with construction projects. That job has now fallen to Rep. Jerry Sonnenberg[4], R-Sterling, who says he likes Kopp’s idea.

“I think that’s what the historical fund is there for, to preserve historical places,” Sonnenberg said. “The dome and the Capitol is one of the most visited historical places, and it obviously needs to be fixed.”